82 DIALYPETALOUS EXOGENS 



3. A. later! flora, L. Sparingly branched; minutely pubescent; 

 leaves oblong, obtuse ; peduncles 2-flowered, lateral. 

 LATERAL-FLOWERING ARENARIA. 



Perennial ? Stem, 4 to 6 inches high, very slender but rather rigid. Leaves half 

 an inch to near an inch long, subsessile. Peduncle an inch or more in length, ax- 

 illary, near the summit of the stem branching into 2 pedicels. Petals twice as long 

 as the sepals. 

 Hah. Along rivulets; Great Valley: rare. Fl. June. IV. July. 



55. STEULA V RIA, L. 



[Latin, Stella, a star; from the star-like corolla.] 



Petals 5, deeply 2-cleft. Stamens 10, or sometimes fewer. Styles 3 

 or 4. Capsule opening at apex with as many, or twice as many, 

 valves as styles, usually many-seeded. Flowers white. 



I. S. mbdia, Sm. Stem procumbent ; leaves ovate, petiolate; petals 

 shorter than the calyx ; stamens often 3 or 5. 

 MIDDLE STELLARIA. Common Chickweed. 



Annual? Stems 8 to 12 or 15 inches long, dichotomously branching, the inter- 

 nodes with an alternating pubescent line. Leaves half an inch to an inch long. 

 Peduncles axillary, solitary, 1-flowered. 

 Hob. Every where, common. Nat. of Europe. Fl. March. Fr. May. 



Q. S. piiljera, MX. Stems weak, rather erect ; leaves ovate-oblong, 

 sessile ; petals longer than the calyx. 

 PUBESCENT STELLARIA. Great Chickweed. 



Perennial. Stems 6 to 12 inches high, often numerous and straggling, and with 

 2 pubescent lines. Leaves 1 to 2 inches long. Flowers stellately spreading, rather 

 large. 

 Hob. Banks of Schuylkill: rare. Fl. April. Fr. June. 



3. S. longlfolia, Muhl Stem very slender, acutely 4-angled ; 

 leaves lance-linear; panicle terminal, divaricate; petals finaDy 

 longer than the calyx, 



LONG-LEAVED STELLARIA. Stitch-wort. 



Perennial. Yellowish-green. Stem 12 to 18 inches high, mostly erect, dichoto- 

 mously branching. Leaves 1 to 2 inches long, narrow. Flowers in a loose slender 

 panicle; pedicels filiform. 

 Hob. Swampy meadows and thickets : frequent. Fl. May. Fr. June. 



4. S. aquatica, Pollich. Stems decumbent, elongating ; leaves 

 lance-oval, veined ; cymes lateral ; petals the length of the calyx. 



5. borealis, FL Cestr. ed. 2. p. 274. not of Bigel. 

 AQUATIC STELLARIA. Water Stitchwort. 



Perennial ; pale green and smooth. Stems 6 to 12 inches long, weak, 4-angled, 

 growing in diffuse bunches. Leaves half an inch to an inch long, nerveless, but 

 with branching deeper green veins, often slightly ciliate at base. 

 Hob. Swampy springs, in the slaty hills : frequent. Fl. May. Fr. July. 



Obs. The springs, which do not freeze up, often keep this plant 

 green through the winter. 



56. CERAS'TIUM, L. 



[Qr. Keras, a horn ; from the shape of the capsules.] 

 Petals mostly 5, bifid or emarginate. Stamens usually 10. Style* 



